No year-end holidays, revelry, gifts for West Bengal ministers

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has laid down three commandments for her ministers in the run-up to the New Year, banning year-end holidays, uninhibited revelry at parties and acceptance of expensive gifts from contractors, promoters.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has laid down three commandments for her ministers in the run-up to the New Year, banning year-end holidays, uninhibited revelry at parties and acceptance of expensive gifts from contractors, promoters.

Banerjee, who is reputed to be a workaholic, is apparently peeved at the underperformance of some ministers. Senior Trinamool Congress leaders communicated the party chief's ban diktat verbally to the ministers just before Christmas.

"This is time for development and work. Our leader herself never takes any leave and we will follow suit," said state food minister Jyotipriyo Mullick.

A senior Trinamool leader said, "She has also asked the ministers to maintain proper conduct. Though ministers can attend parties, none should be seen participating in wild revelry. Only token presence can be excused.

Action will be taken against ministers who violate the diktat. They should highlight the proper spirit and image of the party."

Subrata Mukherjee, minister of public health engineering and panchayat department, said, "There is no question of taking leave. We have a lot of work at hand."

The panchayat portfolio reshuffle indicated Banerjee's dissatisfaction with the earlier minister, Chandranath Singh, who was moved to the statistics and programme implementation department.

According to Banerjee's diktat, none of the ministers will be allowed leave, or leave the state for a sojourn. Barring illness, she wants all ministers to be on their toes.

She has also directed party leaders to control the revelry by party workers.